1. Field of the Invention
This application relates in general to the building trades and to a method of erecting a building that employs concrete in its construction. More specifically, it relates to such a method that makes particular use of modular units preconstructed to serve specific utility.
2. The Prior Art
Prior to the present invention, the construction of multiple family dwellings and office buildings, where those structures employ concrete as a basic building material, was fairly standard. A concrete floor was poured. Then, vertical columns were erected using boxes as forms to receive the concrete for the next level of columns. Concrete was poured in place into the boxes until the required number of columns had been obtained. Thereafter, a forest of wood or metal posts and beams was constructed, and that forest was covered with plywood at the designated level of the next floor. Then, with the plywood, shoring and forming in place and supported by the floor below, the next designated floor of the building was poured in place. After the concrete floor had hardened, the beams, braces, posts and plywood were removed and the concrete provided its own support, assisted by the vertical concrete columns already in place. To form the next floor of the building, boxes were again assembled as forms for the vertical columns of concrete, and once more the vertical columns were poured in place with concrete and the entire procedure repeated.
Such a building method, while satisfactory, is obviously expensive and causes a great deal of effort and time to be expended in constructing the forest of posts and beams that are to be covered with plywood. After the concrete has hardened the entire assembly must be dismantled, only to be assembled again at the level of the next designated upper floor. As a consequence, there has long been a need for a method of erecting a building that does not require the extensive assembly and later elimination of a complex forest of beams and posts. Modular units appear to be a reasonable alternative, and precast concrete has been utilized for the flooring rather than poured-in-place concrete. Modular units lend themselves particularly well to construction of high rise buildings where certain units or rooms of the building will be duplicated after the building has been erected and will not be subject to change, such as bathrooms, kitchens and other utilitarian spaces.
Exemplary of units that will be duplicated almost identically throughout an office building and, therefore, will lend themselves to preconstructed modular treatment, are toilets. Normally toilets will all have the same fixtures, and will be of the same size. Consequently, it would be economical to manufacture such units in their entirety away from the site of the construction and to order specific materials from which the modular units will be constructed in large quantities and with attendant savings. After economic assembly of toilets away from the construction site, the modular units are transported to the construction site and, after each floor of the building is completed, the modular units are then seated at their respective positions.
Preconstruction of portions of a building, which can reduce forming and shoring costs and time, apply to precast floors for the building. Also, while there may be some savings effected in using the precast floors, the savings would be increased through the use of preconstructed modular toilets or kitchens. Since field assembling a kitchen and bathroom requires great detail work, time and cost savings can be realized by using preconstructed modular bathrooms, kitchens, and even utility rooms. In such a modular unit, the walls can be painted, cabinets and fixtures installed, and entire plumbing and electrical systems put in place, as well as mechanical duct work and exhaust systems. Even sprinkler systems can be installed, so that the entire kitchen will be ready for use, with or without a floor covering, and it can be transported to the building site and directly put in place. Until my present invention, however, the use of preconstructed modular units has not had the additional advantage of actually simplifying the erection of the building, itself.
It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to provide a method of erecting a building employing a plurality of preconstructed modular units, in which the modular units will assist in and simplify the construction of the building.
More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a method in which the preconstructed modular units can furnish support for either a poured-in-place concrete floor or a precast concrete floor, either of which is to be installed at the next upper floor that is to be laid at the approximate height of the top wall of the modular unit.